Marc Joseph Nutrition - Blog

As reported in The Huffington Post by David Kirby, journalist and author of the book Evidence of Harm, today marks the start of a key event in the vaccine-autism debate:

On Monday, one of the most important legal proceedings in American medical history will get underway at the U.S. Court of Federal Claims in Washington. There, a special panel of three judges will begin hearing evidence to support — and refute — the hypothesis that mercury in vaccines and/or the live-virus measles-mumps-rubella [MMR] shot caused autism or autism-like symptoms in some American children.

Monday will mark the first time ever that evidence of autistic harm from childhood vaccines is examined and cross-examined in a court of law. This is far from a slam dunk case for either side, and the stakes - professional, financial, emotional — could not be more intense.

The case being heard beginning today (Cedillo v. Secretary of Health and Human Services) is the first test case selected from over 4800 autism claims filed with the federal claims court (aka the Vaccine Court). Any decisions in the case will likely affect future guidance for other Vaccine Court and autism cases around the country.

The Stakes

Back in 1986, a vaccine compensation system was developed by Congress to limit the liability of vaccine manufacturers. A 75-cent tax has been levied on each vaccination shot and put in a compensation fund, which currently totals $2.5 billion.

As noted in the Legal Times, this case represents a crucial test of the system:

The compensation system was meant to handle the rare but inevitable injuries that result from allergic and other reactions to vaccines. Under the 1986 law, instead of suing manufacturers, those injured by vaccines file claims against the government in the federal claims court — which some call the “Vaccine Court.”

Special masters acting as trial judges hear individual cases and award damages once a causal connection has been made. Pain and suffering damages are capped at $250,000, but lost wages, medical and educational costs, and lawyers’ fees can all be compensated. Awards can top $1 million, and more than $750 million has been paid out since the program began.

But nobody envisioned the torrent of autism claims.

Of course, for the children, parents, and family members affected by autism, the stakes are about much more than just money. The physical and emotional effects exact a significant toll that won’t end with a court case decision.

Questions and Evidence

In his post, Kirby provides an excellent overview of the questions and evidence surrounding the case, including:

• Why petitioners were denied access to the vaccine database used by the CDC that supposedly found no link between thimerosal (the mercury-containing vaccine preservative) and autism?
• Why the original datasets used in that database analysis somehow “went missing”?
• How nearly all the evidence being used by the government is epidemiological, which, by its very nature, cannot be used to disprove causation.
• The questionable design and methodology behind several of these epidemiological studies that are often cited as “proof” of no connection.
• Thousands of pages of biological science (studies published in peer-reviewed journals by top scientists from leading research institutes) that will be presented by the Cedillo family’s lawyers and suggests there is a strong link between between mercury exposure and autism at the molecular, cellular, and clinical levels. Kirby details ten of the top findings suggested by this research.
• Birthday videos of autistic children showing the quick regression of development following vaccinations, as well as significant recovery of function following biomedical treatments, including chelation for the removal of heavy metals.
• And much more …

If you have the time, Kirby’s entire post is well-worth reading.

For More Information

There are several resources available to help you follow the court proceedings:

• The U.S. Court of Federal Claims has a website for the trial.
• • Register to listen to live daily proceedings by phone.
  • Access daily recorded digital audio files and transcripts.
• A-CHAMP, an organization that advocates for children with vaccine injuries and autism, will be providing daily trial reporting and commentary on its blog.

Autism is a complicated biomedical condition affecting the immune, gastrointestinal, endocrine, and nervous systems. Nutritional intervention, along with heavy metal chelation in some cases, can play a significant role in helping people to recover function.

On my main website, you can read more about my approach to helping people affected by autism and related conditions such as ADD/ADHD.

Related Posts

Autism - Questions and More Questions

Why We All Should Care About Autism - A Must-Read Discover Magazine Article

Vaccination Schedule Expands 250% Over Past 25 Years

3/4 of Public Unaware that Flu Shots Contain Mercury

ADHD Tied to Higher Mercury Levels

(Image: Boston Globe - Pedro Molina)

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Marc Joseph Nutrition

This entry was posted on Monday, June 11th, 2007 at 1:38 am and is filed under Vaccines, Autism, Mercury. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.